


Oil and Dust

by AYangThang



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Lesbian Romance, Romance, Slice of Life, charity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:07:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29466246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AYangThang/pseuds/AYangThang
Summary: Blake needs funding for her home for troubled Faunus. Weiss has more money than she knows what to do with, and a company looking for charity cases. Blake knows it's a long shot, but she knows she has to try. If she can't find the funds soon, she'll be forced to shut her doors forever. Can she melt a heart of ice and show Weiss what good her help can do? Only time will tell.Tags to be added as needed...Chapters will be posted in small clusters when I've got the time due to the short chapter length.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a small side project I have been working on. It's got short chapters, but I hope you enjoy it.

** Oil and Dust **

There were many inexplicable things in this world, and Weiss had grown used to brushing each and every one of them aside. Still, there were some things that she couldn’t recover so easily from, and the woman in front of her qualified as one of those things.

“I’m sorry, I must have misheard you. Could you please repeat that?”

“I run a home for troubled Faunus.” The woman replied uncertainly. “We could use the funds.”

That…

Well, it was exactly what she had thought the woman in front of her said the first time. Yet, it was the last thing that Weiss expected to hear. When she sat down to examine causes for charity, she had planned for many types of people entering her office. Entertaining the needs of Faunus was not one of them. She had to be going crazy. Perhaps the flight to Vale had been too taxing on her mind. She rubbed at her eyes, sighing at length. She had thought that she had planned for every possible outcome.

This was not part of her plans…

Her father had sent her to Vale in search of a way to please the public. A good cause was a wonderful way to silence naysayers and battle public outcry. Weiss hadn’t thought much of her father’s demand, but she was in no position to argue, either. She had packed her bags and moved to Vale, residing in the home her family owned. She had only been in the kingdom less than a day, and it was already going completely wrong.

Now, she could only set down her pen and glare across the white marble desk. The woman who had walked into the auxiliary office was a Faunus. A cat Faunus to be exact. This event was almost unheard of. Especially given the practices known of the Schnee Dust company. “You…” She trailed off with a ring of uncertainly in her voice. “Run a home?”

“Yes, for troubled Faunus.” The woman said again, her ears twitching as she spoke.

“Yes… Well…” Weiss could only clear her throat in a poor attempt to gather the fragmented pieces of her mind. “That is rather something, now isn’t it? I hope you realize I can’t simply hand out cash on a whim. Why is it that you’d like to ask for finical support?”

“The government has decided to cut the funding for programs like mine in half.” The woman told her. “It stifles my ability to do anything about the young men and women under my care. I’ve got to find a solution somehow.”

Weiss licked her lips, gazing down at the form that had been filled out prior to this meeting. Blake Belladonna, age thirty. A former White Fang operative with a single felony charge, violent assault at that. Acquired at the age of sixteen, a brief stint in jail seemed to correct her path in life. She was hardly the sort of person that Weiss thought to encounter. Now, Blake ran a house of reform for troubled teens and young adults requiring a new lease on life. With her records of funding cut clean in half over the last three years, the home was in danger of closing down.

Weiss had sat here for hours, listening to all kinds of idiotic proposals. People had come in asking for any number of hand-outs, but this was a topic that had never once graced her ears. It would have knocked her flat on her behind if she had not already been sitting down.

“A Faunus program…” Weiss murmured, before forcing her mind to clear itself of growing cobwebs. “You do know who I am, don’t you?”

“Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company.” Blake said simply. “I know exactly who you are, and I realize that this request will probably be denied, but I had to try anyway.”

“Talk about a conflict of interest…” She said, trying and failing to wrap her head around the matter.

“I don’t see it that way.” Blake told her.

“Clearly. Why else would you come here?” Weiss found herself asking, more out of shock than curiosity. “The Schnee family name is almost like a curse word to Faunus like yourself. Why would you even think to come to this establishment in hopes to receive money?”

“I have nowhere else left to turn.” Blake said, a dark honesty in her words. “Vale’s council members are considering shutting down the six of the eight Faunus related outreach programs. If they do, houses like mine won’t even last the year. I’ll have to close my doors, and I have too many people in my care to do that.”

“How many?” Weiss asked.

“Twenty, all of them former White Fang members.” Blake replied. “Several of them are teenagers. If I end up closing my doors, they’ll be on the streets. Many have no homes to go back to.”

“Youth homes take care of that.” Weiss said, picking up her pen to write down a note on the sheet of paper. “As for the adults, I can’t bring myself to care what they do, especially after joining such a vicious organization.”

“You don’t understand. The White Fang prays on desperate Faunus. They’ll take anyone, even children. They have no qualms about raising them into human hating killers.”

“All the more reason why I have absolutely no sympathy for them.” Weiss stated coolly.

“You should. It’s indoctrination, and the only way to break that cycle is to offer better alternatives.” Blake closed her eyes shaking her head in dismay. “Orphanages and youth homes won’t take Faunus who’ve been labeled as White Fang operatives. My home is too small to house the people I do as it is, and those numbers are continually growing. My home is the end of the line, you have to understand. I'm the last chance they have, and it isn't even a good one."

“An ethos I can understand.” Weiss replied, her own life had been placed into danger more times than she wanted to admit. Thanks to the White Fang, she spent her youth living in fear. As an adult, she hardly felt any sympathy for them. “A terrorist is still a terrorist, even as a child.”

“Even if youth homes did take them in, they’d be re-released into the streets as soon as they turn eighteen.” Blake admitted sadly. “Actions like that don’t break the cycle, they only perpetuate it. The best way to keep Faunus away from that organization is to give them the option to make better choices. That starts with emotional support and continued stability. You have to educate them about humanity, teach them honest work, and rehabilitate the core foundations they've come to understand. It's not something you can just ignore.”

“That’s assuming they do try to reform at all.” Weiss told her. “A high bar to set for any delinquent.”

“Former White Fang members can change their ways, and I’m proof of that. Not everyone can be saved, but those that can need that opportunity. It’s the only way to stop the senseless violence.”

“The White Fang is a very deadly organization, Miss Belladonna. Even if you believe you can change these people, I remain doubtful.” Weiss sighed then. “How could I possibly give you funding? For all that I know, it’ll be used as funds to attack my family once more.” She couldn’t fathom even amusing the idea. Even so, to see a Faunus in her office was unfathomable too. Yet, here she was. Tall, dark, and very mysterious. Weiss could only sigh at length. “I need some time to think about this. I’m sure you understand.”

“I do...” Blake said, standing and offering a small bow. “Thank you for your time.”


	2. Chapter 2

_‘Life is far from perfect, probably even for someone like Weiss Schnee.’_ Blake thought to herself as she made her way down the streets of Vale. She slid her hands into her pockets, feeling a few coins rattle against her fingertips. It was the bus fare that would take her out of the heart of the city. _‘What was I thinking? I knew better than to ask someone like her for funding. It was never going to work.’_

Several blocks from the building, Blake finally reached the bus stop. It was a hot summer’s day. Children played in the park across street. A small line of families waited by the ice cream stand, buying frozen treats and relaxing on the benches. Such a sight did a weary heart some good.

Yet, she couldn’t help but look down from the street she came.

The massive building standing tall, as if looming above everything that tried to stand near it. The sun reflected off the dark windows of the white brick building. She couldn’t help but bite her lip in anger. The Schnee family probably had more money than they knew what to do with. A little help, that was all she needed. It would be nothing to them.

_‘Weiss Schnee, huh…’_ The Faunus contemplated bitterly. _‘She’s wrong. She has to be. People can change. I know they can. I’ve changed, haven’t I?’_

Blake tugged at her shirt, trying to cool the air around her, failing miserably. The cries of a child pulled her attention, a little boy lamenting his lost ice cream that had splattered onto the pavement. The frozen treat was no match for the heat. The man behind the stall merely smiled as he passed the child a new cone. The new one was smaller and more manageable against the heat of the day. That kindness meant everything to that little boy, and for the moment it meant everything to Blake too.

A little kindness, was that really so hard?

_‘If only I could get the funding someplace else. Then everything would be okay. The government just doesn’t understand. They say that Faunus don’t belong in the kingdoms. That we’re just fated to be outcasts our whole lives.’_ Blake sighed, leaning back on the bench she sat on, looking up at the sky. _‘I can’t believe that. Besides, if there really is such a thing as fate, I’ve never seen it…’_

The bus she waited for screeched to a halt. Picking herself up from her defeated position, she boarded the bus. She dropped a handful of coins into the payment dispenser and took the nearest seat she could find. It would be a long ride back to the home.

_‘If we were human, this wouldn’t be an issue. Some people have a cloud hanging over them at birth. They need the extra help. The kingdoms know that. If we were human, we’d get the services we needed the same way humans do.’_ Blake thought to herself. She couldn’t help feeling the twinge of frustration and helplessness that came along with fighting a losing battle. _‘I can’t let them shut me down. I need to find the money. I have to…’_

The drive took a few hours, the commute made longer by switching bus lines midway. Eventually she ended up low on change, making the final stretch on foot. She had a car, of course, but the price of gas just wasn’t an expense she had been willing to pay out of pocket. Every single lien mattered. When a lone soda can was abandoned by the road Blake, picked it up simply so she could claim the recycling deposit. Even while the action was noble, she couldn’t help but feel how low she had fallen.

_‘They warned me.’ Blake thought, biting on her lower lip. ‘When I left the White Fang, they said that my efforts would never work. That this was how everything was going to end up. If they turn out to be right…’_ She couldn’t amuse that thought. She couldn’t excuse away years of violence. _‘No, I can’t think like that. If had I stayed with them, things would have been so much worse. I have work to do.’_


	3. Chapter 3

Blake didn’t have time to wait for Weiss to reply.

The very next week, funding was sliced once again. Her back was against the wall. The threat of falling into debt made it clear that Blake needed to make hard choices. Ones, she had hoped, she would have never needed to make.

Twenty Faunus, most of them adults, came and went from the home as they needed. Struggling to maintain decent jobs, and learning to assimilate into respectful society. None of it came easy, and Blake found herself with fewer ways to help by the day. There were two buildings. The adult’s dormitory, and her own homestead. The wayward teens stayed with her, even after the adult’s dorm closed its doors for good.

She had no other choice but to carry on her plans to the best of her ability. She couldn’t support everyone. It came down to a choice, and with great difficulty, she chose the youths that wouldn’t see reform otherwise. The adults had chances, but the younger boys and girls in her care didn’t. Scrambling to make ends meet, she called foster services and good friends alike, trying to find a place that would welcome a child labeled as a White Fang member. Seeing the writing on the wall, a few ran away, returning to their affiliations once again.

As Blake’s home slowly emptied, her dreams began to trickle away too. Finally, there was only one teen left.

Sitting at the kitchen table early one morning, Blake leafed through her contacts once more. Trying to find a home that might take the girl, but, Ilia was a special case. No one had the skills to handle her. She was a violent girl, with blood on her hands and kingdom ready to hang her for her crimes. This was her last chance, end of the line. If she didn’t show reform by the time she turned eighteen, she’d be sent away to a Faunus encampment for the rest of her life, working hard labor until her dying days. If she acted out even once, she’d be killed.

Blake sighed, tucking her chin in her hands as she gazed out of her kitchen window. The sun was peeking out of the muddy clouds as the rain began to fade. The summer shower had done wonders for the plants, but had easily soured Blake’s mood.

She looked across to the table, rolling her eyes as Ilia laid across the table, head in her hands. “Ilia.” Blake said, reaching out to nudge the girl. “Ilia, wake up.”

Ilia didn’t budge, face pressed against the cool table, her breakfast left ignored. It was going to be the start of a very long day. “Fuck off.”

 _‘Well, at least she isn’t trying to stab me with a kitchen knife anymore.’_ Blake thought to herself as she sipped on her tea. _‘Or trying to strangle me in my sleep…’_ Ilia was claimed to be a lost cause, but she was the first girl that Blake had ever taken in. Barely a teenager when she arrived at Blake’s home, she had changed over the years. She wasn’t kind by any stretch of the imagination, her foul mood and sharp tongue were among her worst qualities.

Still, for a girl plucked up off the streets and brainwashed by a terrorist group, she had shown a vast improvement. Even so, those steps had not been enough. She had a long way to go, and only a few more years to do it in. Blake knew she needed to see it through. She couldn’t risk Ilia relapsing, falling back into dangerous patterns and losing sight of all the progress that had been made would be too easy.

“Ilia.” Blake ordered. “Get up.”

“What do you want now?” She grumbled, eyes still closed as she rolled over and put her arms over her head to cover her eyes from the bright sun.

“I want you to eat.” Blake told her. “You have studies to do today, remember?”

“I’m not doing it.” Ilia sit up only enough to cram a bite of bread into her mouth. They she laid her head back onto the table, willing to forget the world.

“Yes, you are.” Blake told her. “You need to, if you want to abide by your probation. If you don’t maintain your grades and do as you’re told, you’ll be shipped off to an SDC mining encampment before you know it.”

“The hell I will! I’ll die before I let that happen.”

“When will you learn your place in this world? You’re a Faunus with a felony, you don’t get to screw around and play games. You _won’t_ survive!” Blake shouted, hands slamming onto the table. Sometimes, it was the only way to get her point across. It was a weekly fight, almost routine on Monday mornings. “You will be sent to a camp, and beaten to an inch of your life the moment you pick a fight. Given your crimes, I’ll be powerless to stop it.” Blake told her, grabbing the textbooks and slamming then down hard in front of the girl. The table rattling from the force of it. “Do your school work, _now_!”

Ilia scowled, but she opened the book. A small victory.

Then the phone rang. Exaltedly she went to the place it hung on the kitchen wall.

"Belladonna's home for wayward Faunus." She answered, trying her best not to sound as down as she felt. "This is Blake belladonna, head of the house. How may I help you?"

"Hey, sorry about this." I didn't know who else to call." A friendly voice came through the receiver.

"It's fine Yang." Blake said, leaning heavily on the wall so she could keep an eye on Ilia. "What do you need?"

"Really hate to do this, and I know you don't need more on your plat right now. It's just, I've got someone that needs a placement. Can you take her?"

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've recently started creating content with a long time friend of mine. Together we're known as "The Demented Ferrets". We have all sorts of content being prepped. We stream on Twitch, and now we have a YouTube channel.
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FerretsDemented  
> Our Blog: https://dementedferrets.com/
> 
> If you want to watch us make fools of ourselves on Twitch you can do that here: https://www.twitch.tv/the_demented_ferrets
> 
> Tuesdays: 9:00 PM - 12:00 AM (GMT)  
> Wednesdays: 9:00 PM - 12:00 AM (GMT)  
> Saturdays: 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM (GMT)
> 
> If you want to see our YouTube content, you can do that here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC57x2Xu2IXCbqyZIhxMJ7kA


End file.
